


It's a Long, Long Way

by flowerkook



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Ba Sing Se, Ba Sing Se University, Basically, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, M/M, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, the zukka college au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerkook/pseuds/flowerkook
Summary: Zuko, a lonely student at Ba Sing Se University, struggles to make friends in his second year. That is until he finds an unlikely friendship in the most popular student on campus.
Relationships: Jin & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	It's a Long, Long Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my friend @eggyukhei on tumblr sent me this idea after i told her im a zukka shipper and thus this fic was born. she also edited this nonsense so thank u :D future chapters will be longer! (and maybe the rating will change) drop a comment if u wanna see more!

The bells of Ba Sing Se university ring loudly in a dissonant chord to indicate that it is noon just as Zuko is stepping past the sloping roof that covers the entrance to the university’s main courtyard. The thought that the bells really need to be tuned flits through his mind before being interrupted by the pang of hunger that strikes him. As he crosses the courtyard, Zuko scans the steps in front of the main building for a place to sit and eat. Zuko sits on the second step from the bottom at the first empty space he sees and pulls the lunch his uncle had packed him out of his bag. The courtyard is lively on the first day of classes as other students sit together talking and eating jovially. The sword club is having a meeting in the corner of the courtyard. The club’s president is known for his enthusiasm for efficiency, so it’s unsurprising that they’re not wasting a single moment, dueling on the first day of the semester. The clangs of metal give Zuko a backdrop for his thoughts as he eats.

He mentally organizes his schedule for the day while shoveling rice into his mouth. Today he has Earth Kingdom government first for two hours, then an Ethics of War seminar for an hour and a half, then Fire Nation Myth Multiformity for an hour, and finally, to end the day he has Classical Earth Kingdom Literature. He knows Jin from his Naval History class last semester has Ethics of War with him, but other than her, he’s not expecting to see any familiar faces. Though the list of faces at the university that he would consider familiar is quite short. Most of the people who attend Ba Sing Se University aren’t from the lower ring. A majority of the students had grown up together or seen each other in their neighborhoods. It didn’t help that he and his uncle had come to the city just a few years ago and he hadn’t exactly been successful in making friends before university either. But that wasn’t why he was here. Zuko was here to get an education in military history and strategic intelligence. He was actually really looking forward to his classes this semester, excited to finally take the upper level courses that aligned with his interests. Though he didn’t usually enjoy literature classes, he was eagerly anticipating his fire nation mythology course, antsy to learn more about his own heritage.

When he finishes his meal, Zuko places the tin back in his bag and decides to stay in his spot and enjoy the warmth of the sun until he has to leave for class. He lets his eyes wander around the courtyard, stopping on each group of people. With a sigh he recalls what his uncle had said to him before he left for class.

“Remember, it is important to draw wisdom from many sources, nephew. Make some friends,” his uncle had said, holding out his lunch tin with a gentle smile.

“This isn’t grade school. And it’s also my second year,” Zuko had said harshly, reaching for the container. But Iroh gave him a look of disappointment.

“Yes, Uncle,” he amended. And Iroh had sent him off to make the train ride from their apartment in the lower ring to the university in the middle ring of the city.

Pushing his hands through his hair in frustration, it dawns on Zuko that his uncle is right. In a year at Ba Sing Se University, Zuko had failed to make any real friends outside of the one person in each class he had befriended to catch him up in the event he missed a lecture. Looking around at everyone in the courtyard, Zuko realizes that he’s lonely.

The same sour chord that had greeted Zuko at the university entrance breaks him out of his wallowing, and he snaps out of his thoughts to find that he has been blankly staring at the corner where the sword club is still practicing. The sword club president is standing perfectly still as the others are dueling around him, looking at Zuko inquisitively. Zuko’s eyes widen and heat rushes to his cheeks as he hurriedly looks away and stands up. He dusts himself off and walks up the steps to his lecture hall, pointedly ignoring the pair of eyes he still feels on the back of his neck. But the man’s face lingers in his mind until he’s taken a seat in his Earth Kingdom government lecture and he’s able to put a name to the face of the most well-known student on campus.

Sokka.


End file.
